A method for modelling the roadway pavement is known from the prior art. In this method, a three-dimensional real profile of the pavement is measured. The real profile comprises real indenters formed by pebbles or gravel chippings incorporated within a matrix, for example tar.
In order to simplify the use of the real profile acquired, real geometric descriptors of the real indenters are determined comprising, for example, a mean height of the indenters, a mean density of the indenters, etc.
Each real indenter is modelled by a virtual indenter, for example a sphere, on the basis of real descriptors. The spheres are described by virtual descriptors, for example a number of spheres per unit area, a radius of each sphere, a position of each sphere, etc. The virtual descriptors thus make it possible to obtain a virtual profile in which the real indenters having a large size are represented by spheres having a large radius while the real indenters having a smaller size are represented by spheres having a smaller radius. The virtual descriptors thus geometrically describe the virtual indenters which, for their part, model the real indenters. The virtual descriptors are thus simplified geometric descriptors of the real indenters.
However, the virtual descriptors thus determined do not take account of the physical reality of the interaction between the pavement and the tyre to describe a given physical effect, for example rolling noise.
It is thus necessary to correct the virtual descriptors with the aid of correction factors, the physical significance of which is ignored most of the time. For example, a PSI (Present Serviceability Index) descriptor is calculated or else a DI (Deterioration Index) descriptor describing, in a complex manner, deterioration of the pavement. Furthermore, these correction factors do not make it possible to predict in a quantitative and precise manner the physical effect under consideration.